The Automatic Customer book club questions

1. 1.

   Warrillow argues that recurring revenue is fundamentally more valuable than one-time revenue. Does your current business have any subscription or recurring revenue component? If not, what would it take to add one?

2. 2.

   Of the nine subscription models Warrillow describes, which feels most applicable to your business or industry? What would that model look like in practice?

3. 3.

   The simplifier model — removing a recurring task from the customer's plate — is powerful because convenience has durable value. What recurring task does your customer currently manage that you could take over?

4. 4.

   Churn is presented as the critical metric. What is your current customer churn rate? If you don't know, what would it take to measure it this month?

5. 5.

   Warrillow says many businesses rush into subscription models without ensuring the offer delivers recurring value. What would customers need to keep getting value from your product or service on a monthly basis?

6. 6.

   The book describes a cash flow challenge during the subscription build phase. How would your business need to be funded or structured to absorb that transition period?

7. 7.

   What is the LTV of a customer in your current business? How does that change if you convert them to a subscription relationship?

8. 8.

   Pricing subscription offers is different from pricing one-time projects or products. What principles would guide how you price a subscription version of what you currently sell?

9. 9.

   Warrillow covers the private club model — subscriptions based on exclusivity or access. Are there aspects of your expertise or network that would support this kind of offer?

10. 10.

    What's the biggest thing that would prevent your current customers from accepting a subscription relationship with you? Is that obstacle about the offer, the pricing, or the relationship?

11. 11.

    The Automatic Customer follows Built to Sell thematically. If your goal is to build a more sellable business, how does adding recurring revenue change the trajectory toward that goal?

12. 12.

    Warrillow is optimistic about the applicability of subscription models. Are there types of businesses where you think a subscription model is genuinely a bad fit, regardless of how cleverly it's structured?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.